About AGS

Why Study AGS at Duke?

At Duke we have distinctive strengths in political science and public policy, including a diversity of experience across the partisan divide, as well as a rich tradition of close collaboration with military and diplomatic history. AGS is a signature program for Duke students interested in national security policymaking.

Summer Fellowships awarded to help fund summer internships or research opportunities related the American Grand Strategy

Exclusive opportunities to meet with prominent speakers in small group settings

Engage in field trips, simulations, battlefield staff rides, and other experiential learning opportunities

Become a part of our network of policy, national security, and political science alumni and experts

Core Pillars

Curricular
The hallmark of AGS is a coveted advanced seminar co-taught by a political scientist and a historian only in the Fall semester. Upper level undergraduates and interested graduate students should contact Peter Feaver about enrolling in the course. Seats are extremely limited.

Speakers Program
AGS brings distinguished scholars and practitioners to Duke to interact with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. The Ambassador Dave and Kay Phillips Family International Lectureship is the pinnacle of this program and features the most distinguished speakers in one or two signature high-profile events at Duke each year. Check our events page for upcoming events of the 2016-2017 school year. Previous events, recordings, and photos are in the events archive.

Co-curricular Active Learning
AGS engages students outside of the classroom, providing distinctive and meaningful learning experiences to students in the form of crisis simulations, staff rides and other field opportunities.Undergraduates who have demonstrated strong commitment to the AGS program will be offered additional experiential education opportunities. In years past this has included Staff Rides, career exploration trips to Washington, D.C., and trips to military bases such as Fort Bragg and the Norfolk Naval Base.

Research
AGS advances scholarship and public engagement in the areas of American foreign policy and civil-military relations. Graduate students in fields related to Grand Strategy should contact Aly Breuer for involvement in small-group sessions with guests in the upcoming year. Each year AGS’s partner institution, TISS, invites doctoral candidates nearing completion of their degrees to apply to speak at our annual New Faces conference. Applications are solicited from across the nation and beyond; 7-10 are selected to present at the conference in the fall. Contact Carolyn Pumphrey for more information.